Big +1 , I've been off the news for about 5 years now (minus a stint for a few months around March 2020). I always recommend people read "Amusing Ourselves to

Big +1 , I've been off the news for about 5 years now (minus a stint for a few months around March 2020). I always recommend people read "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Niel Postman. Sums up the news cycle perfectly (and frankly the social media cycle too, even though the book is from the 80s). > and getting more in person interaction. I think this is key though. From my experience: If you just switch off the news and put that time into more productive personal pursuits - like I did - you don't actually lose the news/social media mindset. The next time you see someone pull out Instagram during lunch or parrot political babble at dinner they could only have heard on the news, your brain immediately returns to the sensationalist, triggering and combative frame that you've been trying hard to avoid. You need to create spaces _with other people_ where you're all disengaged from the cycle. It's getting harder. Particularly if you consider TikTok now part of the cycle.